Online Safety and Other Legislation Amendment (My Face, My Rights) Bill 2025

Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia—Manager of Australian Greens Business in the Senate) (09:18): I rise to contribute to this debate this morning on a bill that's really important, the Online Safety and Other Legislation Amendment (My Face, My Rights) Bill 2025, and I commend Senator Pocock for bringing this bill to the chamber today. It's a good bill and it's an important bill that brings forward changes that we actually need to the law.

It is time for real laws to protect real people. For too long, big tech companies have been making megaprofits off the rubbish that is spread and created on their platforms. For too long, big tech has allowed deepfakes to spread, to be created and to be monetised.

It's not just individuals who are harmed by this. It's not just the young women who are copping the abuse of these deepfakes, although they, of course, need proper and real protection in law. The problem is that this isn't just an individual issue.

These deepfakes and the monetisation of this deepfake technology, in the spreading and the viral nature of them, is now actually undermining the very essence of democracy. Deepfakes aren't just used to harm, harass and abuse individual people—individual users; they are being used to undermine democracy and the very institutions that support our democracy, like journalism.

We know that to have a strong, functioning democracy, we have to have a strong, trusted news system. Journalism must be able to do its job to hold power to account and be trusted to do that. Just this week, the New Daily has reported multiple deepfakes of journalist Natalie Barr clashing with politicians—posts that have thousands of likes and shares, primarily run by operators in Vietnam.

We now have deepfake images, videos and technology being used as part of foreign interference in the very institutions that underpin our democracy here in Australia. One of these fake posts of Natalie Barr, actually accuses me of not being Australian. The deepfake Natalie Barr says: Test her.

I'm sure she's not Australian. It is utterly absurd, utterly untrue and totally fake, but it is online, and it is circulating. The post also claims that Natalie Barr calls Anika Wells 'Anthony Albanese's puppet' and told her to 'sit down, Barbie', something that a journalist obviously wouldn't say.

But this looks real. It's designed to look real, and it's designed to meddle with Australian politics. It's designed to make Australian citizens think that this journalist has made this statement and has conducted this interview.

It should be illegal, and the people impacted by this should be able to have legal recourse. I am worried that there are some in this place who are benefiting from the use of this deepfake technology. I am very concerned that there are some in our political class who are benefiting from the foreign interference of this type of deepfake technology.

I would ask Senator Pauline Hanson and her One Nation Party just how involved they are in a number of these deepfake accounts and deepfake material that is circulating online. Are they involved? Who's paying for them, and what is their connection?

Now, I can see Senator Hanson right here sitting in the chamber. What is she going to say about this piece of legislation? I put it to you, Deputy President, that One Nation is up to their neck with foreign interference and political meddling in this country, and they are using the technology— The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson, on a point of order?

Senator Hanson: On a point of order, I think that language is offensive. It is untrue, and I want it withdrawn. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I'll take some advice.

My own view is that it was a debating point that you'll have the ability to respond to, but I will take further advice. Being there was no personal reflection, it is a matter that you can address in your contribution, Senator Hanson. I will give the call back to Senator Hanson-Young.

I will just remind all senators in the chamber that we should treat other senators with respect. Senator HANSON-YOUNG: That is precisely the point. Our institutions should be treated with respect.

The use and weaponisation of deepfake technology to benefit one's political endeavours should be illegal. It should not be allowed to continue, and the foreign interference of it should be absolutely flushed out. We need to make sure that individual Australians are protected from the use of deepfake technology.

It should be individual Australians who have the right to say how their faces and their voices will be used online. Our media institutions, our journalists, should absolutely be protected from this type of undermining, dishonesty and foreign interference attack. Australians should be able to know that, when something like this occurs, it will be taken down and corrected.

Now I ask you, through the chair, how will One Nation vote on this bill? Will One Nation admit to having any interaction with, or to having any benefit from, the type of deepfake posts and technology that is being pushed out of these Vietnam centres? There are some media organisations that have already tried to report on this, but, of course, One Nation sits there and pretends that they've got nothing to do with it.

Every politician in this place should be standing up for the very essence of our democracy, for strengthening the foundations of our democracy, not for finding ways to undermine it. Deepfake technology is being used to abuse and to harass individual Australians. It is being used to try and trick people and undermine the trust of our very important public interest journalism.

Deepfake technology is being used to intimidate journalists from doing their job. Every politician in this place should be calling it out and putting in place laws that protect us as a community, as a society and as a democracy.